City seeks input about parking meter pilot program

The city of Bexley is seeking input from residents and business owners about a pilot program in which parking meters would be installed in certain areas of the city to test how they would be used.

Bexley City Council is scheduled to hold a public meeting about the parking meters before taking a vote on the pilot program on May 27.

The city's Service Department has prepared a proposal to install the meters along East Main Street from Drexel Avenue to College Avenue for 90 days. Twenty-five meters would be installed on both sides of the street and would be monitored by the city's parking enforcement officer.

Mark Masser, chairman of council's service committee, introduced legislation that would enable the city to install the parking meters. Masser said he believes the pilot program should last for at least a year, rather than 90 days, in order to accurately gauge how the meters are used.

He added that the city should re-evaluate whether East Main Street is the best location for the meters. Pleasant Ridge Avenue near Capital University might be a better site to conduct the pilot program, he said.

"I think we're missing the opportunity to add parking meters that will influence" where students and visitors to Capital's campus decide to park, Masser said.

Mayor Ben Kessler said he has had conversations with Capital representatives about the possibility of adding parking meters to the area and will maintain communication with the university about the pilot program.

Councilman Tim Madison said the pilot program may not provide useful information about parking and traffic patterns unless it takes place after the new Giant Eagle grocery store opens. The store is scheduled to be built on the site of the current City Hall at 2242 E. Main St. The municipal building will relocate to a space just west of the current location in the Bexley Square Shopping Center.

"I'm not sure this trial period is going to give us an accurate representation of what the parking situation will be," Madison said.

The public meeting about the parking meters will take place during council's meeting on May 27, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.